A while back, I read someone had done a cost comparison between nursing homes versus cruise ships for long-term residence. It made a lot of sense, and I hadn't even considered the two as comparable until then.
Still, the basic point that a cruise ship has better amenities and personal services than many "independent living" assisted-living retirement homes that cost more does highlight how ridiculously expensive senior care, even less acute senior care, has become in America.
Ability to tolerate and care for residents in severe mental and mobility decline are kind of the differentiator between a nursing home and other kinds of lodging.